National's Justice spokesman Wayne Mapp says he supports the independent profile of the Police Complaints Authority but there is a risk of it becoming overly bureaucratic.

"The Authority does not require three members - one High Court judge should be able to handle the job. If it takes only one judge to run a murder trial, one judge can surely oversee the investigation of a complaint.

"It would be better to have a sharply focused authority rather than building up a new bureaucracy at the expense of frontline policing.

"Mr Goff is also naïve if he thinks that the Authority can be run for $1 million.

"To date, justice has been done by the Police Complaints Authority but today's move will ensure that justice is seen to be done. It is important that New Zealanders can clearly see that the Police Complaints Authority is free from fear or favouritism," Dr Mapp said.

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